(This happened to me, and it's a TRUE story, I swear it is! You'll never think of apples the same way...)

It was your typical Saturday afternoon when I woke up. Stretch yawn - off to the kitchen to find some breakfast before checking an email, swapping some chats and then off to my sister's. Or So I thought...

Mm, I love apples. I picked one off the cupboard counter, looked for holes and plucked the stem out, it was the perfect apple in the bunch left on the counter a day ago. I washed it and after few bites as I sat down at my desk, I noticed that it tasted HORRIBLE. I stopped chewing, glanced at the apple and noticed it was a sickly, nasty brown so I, being no type to eat like a goat, went and spat out my mouthful into the garbage can. First wise move. Then I thought again, once again back at my desk, "You know, mom's going to be mad if I throw good food away... why not cut it up for the chickens?"

DUH! Should have left it... anyways, I plucked the apple out of the garbage, picked up a butter knife and over to the sink I go. Since my lovely knife was as dull as a certain person's brain skills at the time, I began to cut open the apple. But the knife only got half way. Not so surprising says I, until I pick the apple up, and split it open in my hands...

Out jumps this BIG brown spider, INTO my sink where it begins to crawl around like mad! So I throw the apple halves at it, as it starts to climb it's way up the side of the sink. By now, I'm screaming, shaking and jumping around the kitchen like a whack job... I try to gather my wits and get a cup of water to pour on it. The stubborn thing just won't die! The phone rings, Hello, it's mom...

And finally spidey goes down the drain, and I make a note to myself that I will never think of apples the same way again. (And I didn't eat the rest of those apples for the next two weeks, and not unless they were quartered and washed VERY well!) Mom would have never have believed me... And that's how I pretty much over came my fear of spiders. Mm, crunchy spiders...

You know what's wonderful at ridding yourself of a fear of spiders? Watching them molt. It is such an amazing and beautiful process that you can't be afraid of them anymore, and they're so vulnerable in that time and days after! They're soft as jelly, so even crickets could kill them.

Also, connecting and healing a past life (or someone's past life that you happen to be wounded from, you know, collective unconscious and all that jazz) where you have died from a spider bite. Kind of makes you go, "Meh. I've done it before. It wasn't so bad."

Crazy Healer LadyHealth and happiness to you!

The purpose of a relationship is not to have another who might complete you, but to have another with whom you might share your completeness. -CWG

Well, I will remain terrified of spiders myself, although I will keep an eye out for Grandmother Spider's wisdom. I figure it's still possible to learn from those to terrify you, even if it's only to learn better protection and defense.

I personally don't think that I'd be eating any more apples for quite a while myself! Bravo on your bravery!

As someone who has seen Crazy's spiders, I can say that they are very beautiful, and I'm ever so glad that they have someone willing to love them like Crazy does, and not me (cause, I'm too terrified to pick them up! Her little dragon on the other hand... )

Trying to create a world, even in words, is good occupational therapy for lunatics who think they're God, and an excellent argument for Polytheism. -S.M. Stirling

The only spiders I like are tame ones. Just yesterday, instead of squashing one I took him out and tossed him in the garden where he'd go and not come back to my bathroom. (They came out after every shower... I have no idea why.)

Cockroaches scare the bejeezus out of me. In California, I would never let my bare feet touch the bathroom floor in the dark. Centipedes and millipedes too... ugh

Now I have a hard enough time looking at the apples on my counter. If a spider crawled out of mine, that would have been the end of apples for me for a very long time. I hate spiders, and I typically will leave them alone if they are tiny, but the big ones must leave.

FyreGarnet

The difference between cats and dogs is that dogs want to smell everyone's rear and cats want every one to smell THEIR rear - unknown

Mind, spiders bite, so... I remember biting into a delicious rosehib straight off the bush, feeling a pinch in the gums below my bottom front teeth, pulling the hip away, and seeing a little larva that had just bit me!!!

In the West, we think bugs are so gross. They're valuable nutrition, and many hold more protein and nourishment per 100grams than beef!! If we'd stop spraying to kill them, we'd even have organic bugs to eat, and no worries on hormones!

Mind, with the Vegan thing, I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I'm sure I eat bugs anyway. I'm just not going to make a stirfry of them, although that would be really neat. I think that is my only regret of veganism: not being able to eat bug delicacies

Crazy Healer LadyHealth and happiness to you!

The purpose of a relationship is not to have another who might complete you, but to have another with whom you might share your completeness. -CWG

But I also have to add something. If you aren't willing to see your food alive, and still eat it afterward, you won't survive if the power ever goes out permanently.

I've made it a point to visit a local slaughterhouse, just so that I could see how those cows go from live and kicking to my plate. I don't mind eating lobster, even fresh "I saw him moving 2 minutes before" lobster.

I balk at cleaning my own food though. I eventually want to understand how it's done, and perhaps when I'm good enough with a bow, I'll go out with Grimwell and hunt down rabbits, so that I can actually go through every step from kill to plate, at least once.

I feel that you should be able to see each step done, and have an idea of how, to truly be thankful to the spirit of the animal.

But that's me... And I'll stop bothering everybody now. I know that my view on this probally aren't popular.

Trying to create a world, even in words, is good occupational therapy for lunatics who think they're God, and an excellent argument for Polytheism. -S.M. Stirling

OH Kitsune!!! Take some survival courses. There are a few coming to Edmonton, not sure about Calgary! If it's a good course, you should learn how to properly prepare game. I learned when I was younger because I was obsessed with survival life - still am. Homesteading or Nomadic Wandering is my passion.

I haven't done any of it in years, though... I can still remember most of the steps, but hey, pick up an old SAS Survival Guide, and that should give you at least the basics. Pretty well the big things are not to contaminate the meat with an organ (which one, I forget at this time) or the intestinal contents, and to let the blood fully. There aren't many parts of the animal that can't be eaten, and most of what can't be eaten can be turned into something (hide curing is fascinating!) and what can't be eaten or turned into anything has other uses, some ceremonial.

With creatures such as squirrels, there's even surprise goods, such as nuts and seeds that they store. However, rabbits and squirrels and some trout actually are more of a novelty food. They give you nutrients, yes, but in a survival situation, they're not good. They take more calories to digest than they give.

Crazy Healer LadyHealth and happiness to you!

The purpose of a relationship is not to have another who might complete you, but to have another with whom you might share your completeness. -CWG

It's on my list of things to do Crazy... Given money, time and a working vehicle.

With the handfasting just past, I know I have no money this year for a survival course, but I could definately check into them for next year.

I remember when I found out that we can't live on Rabbit. They don't have fatty enough deposits, and something in the lack will kill you if you're not getting it elsewhere (please, someone jump in and let me know... I'm at work, otherwise I'd just run a search myself )

Survival skills a wonderful set to have, even if you never use them. When I don't have 18 books (literally) sitting on my "to buy" list, I'll pick up a basic survival guide... That was a great idea Crazy! Thanks!

Trying to create a world, even in words, is good occupational therapy for lunatics who think they're God, and an excellent argument for Polytheism. -S.M. Stirling